ABC News and Brian Ross are apologizing for an "incorrect" report that James Holmes, the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting, may have had connections to the Tea Party. "An earlier ABC News broadcast report suggested that a Jim Holmes of a Colorado Tea Party organization might be the suspect, but that report was incorrect," ABC News said in a statement. "ABC News and Brian Ross apologize for the mistake, and for disseminating that information before it was properly vetted."

After Aurora, Colorado, shooter James Holmes attacked moviegoers this summer, ABC News reporter Brian Ross – minutes after the name of the suspect had been leaked to the press – sifted through the white pages to discover that there was one James Holmes in Colorado who happened to be a tea party activist. That incident forced ABC’s President Ben Sherwood to issue an apology. -Noah Rothman

On Good Morning America, ABC News' Brian Ross and George Stephanolpoulos suggested that the Tea Party might be connected to the mass shootings early this morning in an Aurora, CO theater during a screening of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. The mainstream media attempted to blame the Tea Party for the Tuscon shootings in January 2011, shortly after Republicans swept the midterm elections. Now, in the critical 2012 elections, the mainstream media seems poised to do the same--and ABC News has led the way.

Just as in January 2011, when the Tucson shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords sparked speculation that the perpetrator was either affiliated with the tea party or influenced by its anti-government rhetoric, members were again wrongly fingered as possible culprits and forced to defend themselves against the assumption that there might be a link. This time, tea party leaders responded angrily — and with a sense of deep frustration over the latest erroneous connection drawn between their political beliefs and gun violence.

As Twitchy reported this morning, ABC’s Brian Ross shamefully tried to tie the Tea Party into the Aurora shooting tragedy. By doing so, he falsely accused a Tea Party member named James Holmes as being the suspect. Mr. Holmes has now had to turn his phone off, due to all the threats he is receiving.

Stephanolpoulos: I'm going to go to Brian Ross. You've been investigating the background of Jim Holmes here. You found something that might be significant. Ross: There's a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado Tea party site as well, talking about him joining the Tea Party last year. Now, we don't know if this is the same Jim Holmes. But it's Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado. Stephanolpoulos: Okay, we'll keep looking at that. Brian Ross, thanks very much.

ABC News has suggested that James Holmes -- the suspect in today's shooting in Aurora, Colorado -- may have a connection to the Tea Party. ABC's Brian Ross reported this morning that there is "a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado Tea party site... talking about him joining the Tea Party last year."